Town tells king: you are not welcome here

SPAIN: A town has declared the king of Spain an unwelcome person, dealing another blow to the 74-year-old monarch who has faced criticism for going on an elephant hunting trip.

The town council of Berga – population 17,160 – in north-eastern Spain approved a motion declaring King Juan Carlos “persona non grata”.

The censure was proposed by the pro-independence Popular Unity Candidature party and was published, following its approval, on the town’s website yesterday.

The king faced condemnation for going on a lavish safari in Botswana at a time when nearly one in four Spaniards were unemployed.